29. Review and Discussion of WandaVision (Dir. Matt Shakman, 2021) [SPOILERS]

 After having the first few episodes somewhat spoiled for me on Twitter, I decided to give in and watch WandaVision as it was released weekly (thankyou Phoebe for providing me with your Disney Plus password so I could do so).

This blog post will follow a slightly different format to what I usually write with, in that I will be discussing the show episode by episode, with a summary of my overall thoughts at the end. This means that there will be potential spoilers, so this is your heads up to stop reading if you don't want spoilers before you have watched the show yourself (and I highly recommend that you DO watch it yourself).

Episode One: Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience

The first episode throws us straight into black and white in 50's/60's sitcom style, following newly wed and new home owners Wanda and Vision as they tackle suburban life in West View whilst attempting to hide their powers. This episode feels very much like Bewitched, all the way down to the theme tune (which changes per episode in relation to the era the episode is set in). Although I saw online that a few people didn't particularly like this first episode as it is very much straying from the usual Marvel structure, I felt that this was a really clever way to set up the narrative for the show and provoke questions from the viewer; Why are they in a sitcom? How did they end up in a sitcom? How is Vision even alive? It was also nice to see Wanda and Vision being a cute married couple together.

Episode Two: Don't Touch That Dial

The second episode is where the true narrative begins to seep through and mysterious and unsettling things take place, implying that not everything is as it seems; that Wanda created this fabricated reality, and that there is a larger problem lurking on the horizon.

I felt there were some cool cinematographic elements in this episode, with the introduction of colour through the discovery of the red helicopter/ drone, proving that the outside world are trying to get in touch with her. This introduction of colour is then brought in full force as Wanda and Vision share a kiss and the whole show is drenched in glorious technicolour, which I felt was a really sweet analogy of how Vision and Wanda bring colour, happiness and hope into each others lives.

Episode Three: Now In Colour

This is where things really begin to pick up, not only with the colour but also with the fashion, the fastest pregnancy imaginable, and Vision catching on that something is not quite right about West View. This episode also features Geraldine, (who is actually Monica Rambeau) who has knowledge of things which happened in the outside world and this irks Wanda, as she realises that her idyllic town has been infiltrated. 

We then learn at this point that Westview is surrounded by S.W.O.R.D Agents, through a television signal, as Monica is thrown out of West View through the Hex's border which separates the outside world from West View. Here she reveals that Wanda is in fact in control of everything inside.

In the end of this episode Wanda see's a spooky, dead version of Vision, eluding to the fact that Wanda's suburban life is fabricated, as Vision is truly dead.

Episode Four: We Interrupt This Program

This episode reveals a lot of backstory about what's going on on the other side of the Hex, revealing that Hayward assigned Monica to go help Jimmy Woo out with West View and figuring out what on earth is actually happening. After Monica gets sucked into the HEX, Dr Darcy Lewis (from THOR), figures out how to tune into WandaVision and from there her, Jimmy and the rest of S.W.O.R.D. watch the show.

Episode Five: On A Very Special Episode...

Episode Five really amps up Vision trying to figure out what's going on, with him releasing one of his office co-workers from Wanda's control and sending him into a frenzied panic asking Vision to help. Alongside Vision realising that Wanda is basically puppeteering everyone in West View, their two kids Tommy and Billy age up multiple times, they get a dog, and the dog dies. Vision confronts Wanda and they have a angry stand off, and Vision reveals he knows nothing of what came before West View. These marriage issues are attempted to be solved by a recast version of Wanda's dead brother Pietro aka Quicksilver showing up, played by Evan Peters, who portrays the X-Men universe edition of Quicksilver. This sent the internet into a bit of a frenzy, predicting that the X-men were going to join the MCU and that Evan Peters was the signifier for this. However...

Episode Six: All-New Halloween Spooktacular!

Evan Peters Quicksilver only sticks around for this fun 90's Halloween episode to help the kids learn to use their powers and provide comic relief, as after a comment about Vision dying twice Wanda gets angry at him and he isn't seen again properly until the final episode.

This episode mostly follows Vision as he tries to figure out what else is happening in West View, discovering that the people located further away from the centre of town are pretty much stationary. Vision also finds out from their next door neighbour 'Agnes', who has been extremely helpful so far every time they have a problem, that in the real world he is in fact dead. 

Upon this discovery, Vision decides to try and go farther than the boundary, breaking through enough to see the S.W.O.R.D agents on the other side, but beginning to break apart himself. 

To save Vision, Wanda demonstrates that she is extremely powerful by expanding the boundary of West View, absorbing some of the S.W.O.R.D agents, buildings and vehicles, and Darcy along with it.

Episode Seven: Breaking The Fourth Wall

The theme tune for this episode is reminiscent of The Office, setting up for the episodes format which breaks the forth wall and features interview segments. Through these interviews we realise Wanda really has no idea how she has managed to create the Hex surrounding West View, and that her powers are glitching out and changing objects.

Vision wakes up back inside the boundary and he and Darcy create a comedic dream team as he figures out some more intel on what exactly is going on. 

On the other side of the Hex, Monica realises that she can force her way back through into West View as she has already been inside before, however upon entering her molecules or something have changed so much that she has gained powers and transformed into Photon.

Back inside the Hex, Wanda realises there's something dodgy about Agnes and we find out she in fact is a witch called Agatha Harkness, and that it was in fact Agatha all along (messing up everything).

Episode Eight: Previously On

We get a bit of background info on Agatha here, seeing that she is in fact very powerful and absorbed many other witches powers. Agatha wants to know how Wanda has managed to create the Hex and fabricate her own reality, and takes Wanda back through her past to find out how she became so powerful. 

In the flashbacks we see Wanda through the ages finding comfort in sitcom shows as she goes through traumatic experiences; losing her parents, being experimented on, gaining her powers and so forth, which explains why Wanda made West View into a sitcom to help her cope.

These flashback scenes provide with one of the most beautiful quotes from the whole series, where Vision consoles Wanda over the death of the real MCU Pietro by saying "What is grief if not love persevering?"

The most important flashback however shows Wanda going to retrieve Vision, and discovering that S.W.O.R.D have been dismantling him and trying to figure out how to restart him. I am also not ashamed to admit that I may have shed a tear over Paul Bettany's decapitated robot head at this point.

Wanda does not steal Vision as Hayward suggested earlier in the series, however she does go to West View where Vision has bought them a plot of land and had intended for them to live on together. In her sadness and grief, Wanda used her powers to build a house, transform West View, and create Vision out of thin air, which I am unsure whether this was her splitting her soul or using the power which Loki's sceptre passed to her when she was experimented on.

The end of the episode reveals that Hayward has been attempting to reboot Vision himself, and has succeeded in bringing him to life, however he is white and scary.

Episode Nine: The Series Finale

The season finale! It was a rollercoaster indeed, and I shed many many tears. This episode features a LOT of action, straying completely from the sitcom format and more into the stereotypical Marvel format. There are many different fight sequences, with Wanda having a face off with Agatha, Wanda and her family having a face off with S.W.O.R.D, and Vision having a face off with the rebooted version of himself, the White Vision (who is extremely ugly and creeped me out).

Evan Peters pops up again this episode, and is revealed to be someone from the town called "Ralph Bohner", which I believe to be completely false and think that it is in fact the X-Men Quicksilver in a protection programme, as he has the zoomy speed powers and it would make sense as Jimmy Woo was trying to find someone in the protection programme who had disappeared into Wanda's hex. I also believe that the MCU wouldn't go to all of that effort just for a boner joke but you never know.

Wanda attempts to right her wrongs of enslaving the town of West View to have roles in her sitcom, however she quickly realises that she built West View wrong and if she takes back the spell then her family will disintegrate and die. Wanda does everything she can to protect everyone, defeating Agatha and realising her true witchy powers as the Scarlet Witch. 

By the end of the episode Wanda comes to terms with making the sacrifice of letting her children go and losing Vision again (although real Vision is still out there somewhere) for the sake of freeing the town, which is extremely heart breaking. Although sad, Wanda leaving West View behind means she can retreat to the mountains to work on her witchery as shown in the post credits. Here we get a teaser that there may be a WandaVision season two as Wanda hears Billy and Tommy calling for her help in her head, implying another season could follow her as she tries to get her family back.

The post credits also hint towards Monica going into space to help the Skrulls, introduced in Captain Marvel, which I found exciting and I look forward to seeing her character in further MCU content.

Overall, I really really loved this series, and I felt it really did Wanda and Visions characters justice. In previous MCU films featuring them, bar Infinity War, I had felt slightly passive towards them as they were not exactly main characters and I felt their relationship and characters hadn't been developed enough in comparison to those of other characters such as Tony or Steve (understandable, they do each have multiple films dedicated to just them). WandaVision, for me, really helped me to understand these characters better and has excited me for their future involvement in the MCU.  

~ Paige Nicole